Vervins, Treaty of

Vervins, Treaty of (vĕrvăNˈ) [key], 1598, peace treaty signed at the small town of Vervins, Aisne dept., N France, by the representatives of Henry IV of France and Philip II of Spain. It ended the French Wars of Religion by obliging Philip to withdraw his troops from France, thus depriving the Catholic League of Spanish support. The Edict of Nantes (see Nantes, Edict of), which defined the rights of French Protestants, was signed in the same year.